An Aberdeen Labour candidate has poured scorn on a “climbdown” by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon over the creation of a major trauma centre at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI).
Yesterday, the SNP leader ended weeks of speculation when she personally guaranteed a centre would be delivered under a nationalist government.
However, Aberdeen Central candidate Lewis Macdonald said that voting Labour was the only way to guarantee “it actually happens”.
He said: “I called on Nicola Sturgeon to match Labour leader Kezia Dugdale’s commitment to a major trauma centre in Aberdeen.
“But whereas Kezia was quick to make that commitment, and it was spelled out in Labour’s manifesto, Nicola Sturgeon’s apparent U-turn has come at the last minute, and two weeks after the SNP manifesto failed to mention major trauma centres at all.
“Much of the credit for the SNP’s climbdown must go to the consultants who have spoken out at ARI, the trade unions in the local NHS, and the 3,500 concerned citizens who have signed the online petition calling for a major trauma centre in Aberdeen.
“That broad-based campaign has made all the difference.
“The best way for voters to secure the major trauma centre we have campaigned for in Aberdeen is to use both votes for Labour this Thursday.”
The other candidates in Aberdeen Central are Kevin Stewart (SNP), Tom Mason (Conservatives) and Ken McLeod (Liberal Democrats).